


Stories of Insubordination

by rehearsed_mania



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, Gem War, Gem society backstory, Rebellion, revolutionary girlfriends, to the left
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-26
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2020-02-04 09:38:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18601909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rehearsed_mania/pseuds/rehearsed_mania
Summary: Between a Pearl who belongs to no one and a Bismuth who makes weapons for rebels, a deep — and subversive — bond can be forged. This is a collection of snippets following their shared resistance during the Rebellion.





	Stories of Insubordination

Bismuth would later interpret she’d always been a rebel on her own account and no one else’s. It had been as if she only ever needed the slightest spark to rise: that was Rose Quartz. Rose’s discourse but not her presence, mind you, for they’d only stand face to face many, many, many years after the first revolutionary ideas had begun to spread like a virus among Gems.

Nothing more life-threatening than infusing simple workers with dangerous ideas about their own place in the overall shit that was the Diamond Empire. Imperceptible mistakes were made and entire buildings would fall off within months of use by the Uppercrust. This Bismuth — facet 6f9f, cut 8tr — would secretly bask in the destructions; she just couldn’t avoid the satisfaction of seeing work routine be slowly dismantled after they’d all finally heard: _You can be what you want, you can do what you desire_.

The whispers, the doubts, the dreams, a budding lack of purpose. She — facet 6f9f, cut 8tr — and her comrades were immersed in this new perspective which they couldn’t yet name.

Until the first Bismuths shattered themselves, one after the other. These creatures couldn’t fathom the reality of still serving their superiors and knowing with certainty they were no more than servants. At least, that was Bismuth facet 6f9f, cut 8tr’s hypothesis: their previous ignorance had been bliss, without being pressured to take part in a future, closer than ever riot. In the end, all it took was the absence of one Agate supervisor and, in mere minutes, repetitive, shrieking noises were heard in each corner of the forge.

“My comrades in tools,” this Bismuth declared on the very same day, holding in her arms the illegal weapons used by her colleagues to commit their first and last crime in this planet “we’ve reached our limit. Nothing and no one has the power to hold us back from our new purpose! We have to fight back for our friends! Fuck the elite scum!”

There was no united reaction from the other Gems: some shouted and whistled, some remained silent in fear. Come what may, facet 6f9f, cut 8tr’s leadership decisively turned their collective paths around. Before long, they’d already poofed the Agate right when she returned to find them in total havoc, threw her gem in the pool of lava, broke all machines and crossed their arms.

A Bismuth paralysation under Pink Diamond’s nose; now, that was quite the situation. Thankfully, Her Clarity was too overzealous with her own little experiments to even care. News were running rampant in the world thanks to one pilgrim Bismuth. The remaining peons stood their ground and waited. With no Agate to report them to Homeworld superiors and barely any production needed for a half-assed colony such as Earth, the impacts would be minimal, except for one consequence, the grandest of all.

Bismuth — facet 6f9f, cut 8tr — knew exactly what she wanted: to meet Rose Quartz. The detractor had been organizing clandestine reunions with other Quartz soldiers, but so far not with the masses of working Gems. Would she step down a notch and listen to the rough, resigned constructors? She did, and thousands of years later this tired Gem could still remember a surge of energy coming directly from her stone, zoning out her projected body in waves of defiance as the entrance alarm rang.

“It’s her, I can feel it!” a comrade exclaimed, glued to the cave’s wall. _Open it, open it_! she was cheered on. Without hesitation, the guard connected her Gem’s power to the metal surface. It was unsealed in a chain of multiple doors opening horizontally and vertically, up and down, left and right, until the last barrier was peeled off and, at last!, there she was: Rose Quartz. She towered above all the rest, chubby and graceful in a dress more creamy than white - her purpose wasn’t to pay homage to the big stellar boss, after all.

The Bismuth almost tumbled on her own apron, for she had never witnessed a presence as… as… the uncalled urge to bow down overtook her. _Self-restrain,_ _woman_! Shouldn’t they be equals? But what else was there to expect, when every subversive thought this poor Bismuth had ever entertained was authorised and legitimated by the very Gem right before her? They should be equals.

The incendiary walked in strides towards them. However, another sight quickly diverted facet 6f9f, cut 8tr’s attention.

 _Almost_ at Rose’s side, following her in minute little steps, was a Pearl. A Pearl, of all beings! Who could she be? No, it wasn’t possible… stars, _the renegade_! Tiny, thin, weak, as if she would break at any moment, cracking like a china damaged beyond repair. Her face, though! — her hard-set eyes, her tousled hair, her unshaking posture. This Pearl could melt even a Bismuth into lava.

“Pleasure to meet you, fellow Bismuths,” Rose Quartz greeted them as she first stepped into the hot, sweaty forge, a place not at all delicate such as herself. “You’ve done an extraordinary job here. I must confess I’ve never seen anything like this before. Have you ever heard of another strike in this galaxy, Pearl?”

“It certainly has been a long time, in a faraway planet. I have heard that the Bismuth kindergarten policies have been modified after the incident.”

She spoke in the monotonous tone Pearls were known for. Her capacity to not move a single inch was quite unnerving, probably a remaining trait of slavery. From her cherished corner near the wall, Bismuth could not only watch the Pearl closely, but notice the small yet concrete distance that kept her apart from Rose.

“Oh, really? What a delight — the strike, I mean, not Homeworld’s tyranny.”

Facet 6f9f, cut 8tr wasn’t able to stop looking at this Pearl. She hadn’t known creatures from a class as her own were able to transcend it in some way. How could a Pearl hold herself with such poise? What an absurd proposition it was that one of her kind acted shamelessly arrogant towards pretty much any other real Gem in existence. She didn’t greet the crowd, let alone _smile_ or talk. She clearly hadn’t bothered looking enticing for anyone, maybe except for her master — after all, was Rose her master or not?

Her big, round eyeballs were scanning the laborers, all too blinded by Rose Quartz’s presence to even notice. When their eyes met, Pearl slided her analytical gaze over Bismuth’s form. This solid builder suddenly felt devoid of any coverup — before she knew it, the words had spilled from her mouth.

“Do you belong to somebody?” After an offbeat instance of silence, Bismuth’s feet began to fidget.

The Pearl blinked. When she finally spoke, her voice was precise to a fault. “No one owns me.”

“Wow. So you’re really your own Gem, eh?” She laughed to herself, tucking her rainbow locks over the headband. The pride contained in this Pearl’s words — so far, no more than a few — was too much even for a working class radical to comprehend. There was still so much to learn.

Another harsh pause. “Yes, I am. Anything more?” It sounded kind of pre-programmed, like an official message repeated over and over again; perhaps, she _did_ have to reiterate her stance every time to disbelieving Gems.

Bismuth rubbed her neck in muted embarassment. “Excuse me, I’m just a good ol’ Bismuth who can’t stop asking questions. Y’know, haven’t always been allowed to.”

The Pearl didn’t respond. Instead, she turned her attention back to the other Bismuths who’d been trying to reach Rose with no success, thanks to the mates who’d bundled up around the great leader, pouring onto her all the demands of long, exhausting labor cycles.

“You should all form a circle so we can listen to what you have to say,” she commanded as loud as possible. Damn, by the likes of it she’d blindly bet this Pearl could scratch a Bismuth. This was the whole point of the rebellion, wasn’t it, that no Gem outpowered another based on oppressive ranks which they had never decided by themselves?

The Gems turned back to stare at her, but didn’t budge at all. There lied an uncertainty in the air, that didn’t dissipate before Rose eventually spoke up.

“Pearl is right, oh my, how can we talk this way? Please, let’s sit down.” Only then did the Bismuths change position, following her eagerly. It was revolting how Gems were built to take orders from superiors, but it would take time to rewire themselves. A few thousand years down the road, maybe?

Facet 6f9f, cut 8tr sat on the floor with the rest of her turf. She exchanged looks with her folks, who nodded in encouragement; it was her right and duty to speak. “Oh, we sure have a bunch of stories to tell you two.” She stretched her arms way over her head. “What do you want to hear about? Our forge conditions, the work accidents, our dependence on a Zircon to stay alive in this society, how we’re all sick and tired of working ‘til death while Emeralds sit on us like we’re chairs?”

“By work accidents, I believe you mean the latest temple disasters,” the Pearl said as calculated as before while sitting almost next to her.

“Yeah, but not only those. I’ve lost count of how many companions have slipped up and cracked their stones with these stardamned machines. And not all of them were fixed.” She sighed in pain, hands closed in fists, remembering her long gone friends 8fg, 6xl, 5dj.

“My condolences, fellow Bismuth. It must be a never-ending grief,” Rose whispered sweetly, as if she were capable of experiencing the same ache. Somehow, though, _never-ending grief_ still wasn’t enough to translate all the...

“We need more information,” the Pearl insisted. “I couldn’t grasp what you’ve mentioned about the Zircons. Be as detailed as you can.” There was no _please_ at the end, it didn’t go unnoticed.

This Bismuth wasn’t quite in the mood to be thoroughly interviewed, but the opportunity to share so many horrors she and her own lived on a daily basis was far more important than any setback. She went on and on, a few corrections and complements offered by other comrades in tools along the way. The Pearl watched her with full attention.

“We’ve reached a breaking point in this galaxy, it’s true. Change is everything we need.” It was Rose’s final say in the matter. “You Bismuths are dedicated and skilled constructors, but your talent has been wasted so far. Join us and you’ll have the power to choose: what does each one of you want to build?”

Such a simple yet unforeseen question. This simple Gem had never considered choice as a possibility, no matter how much anger the repetitive activities raised within her. She found herself gasping for air she didn’t need, the pressure of a question, when had the Uppercrust ever asked her anything?, stars, it hit her hard, more than any rock ever could. One entire existence could be reinvented in a few seconds, after all.

She raised her hand. No other friend motioned to speak.

“I’ll make whatever you need for the Rebellion,” she spat out. She was angry, some _fucking_ anger it was, and it fed her to the core. “You name it and I’ll do it.”

The Pearl looked at her hard. “Do you have any knowledge about crafting weapons?”

**Author's Note:**

> I think Pearl and Bismuth bring out the best of each other's rebellious streak, thus this fic was born. The chapters are independent, like oneshots, but do weave together in the big picture. This also is my getaway place where I can explore a few Gem Society headcanons and theories. Just a last thing: I'm not a native English speaker and this is actually my first work published in this language, so tell me if anything sounds weird.


End file.
